Fragrance Emitting Device for Use in Ironing

ABSTRACT

A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing is disclosed. The device is intended to allow a person who is ironing to initiate the release of a fragrance when desired. The device comprises an absorbent body ( 20 ) within which is incorporated a fragrance composition, the body being adapted for disposition between an upper surface ( 18 ) of an ironing board and an ironing board cover ( 12 ) fitted to cover the upper surface. Release of fragrance is initiated by passing a hot iron over the device. Cellulose pulp is a suitable material for the body. The device may be sold as a packaged product within a sealed package that preserves the fragrance within the body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a national stage of PCT/GB2005/00003445 filed Sep.8, 2005, and based upon GB Application No. 0420122.4 filed Sep. 10,2004, under the International Convention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a fragrance emitting device for use inironing.

BACKGROUND ART

Many people find that clean washing can sometimes loose its freshnessand “just washed” smell due to factors such as its being left in awashing machine for too long or not using a conditioning agent onheavily soiled items. This can cause items to give off a stale smellwhen they are being ironed.

This problem has been addressed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.2003/0136035 of Lehrman. Lehrman's proposal is to incorporate fragranceemitting means within an ironing board cover. However, the proposalpresented by Lehrman is less than ideal and does itself have problems.Most particularly, it has been observed by the present inventor that inLehrman's proposal it is likely that the fragrance will become exhaustedsome considerable time before the cover has reached the end of its life.The user then has the option of doing without emission of fragrance orreplacement of a cover that is still otherwise perfectly serviceable.Moreover, many people chose to use decorative ironing board covers, andsuch people will not wish to abandon this preference to obtain thebenefit of the fragrance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aim of this invention is to provide a solution to the problem ofproviding a fragrance while ironing that is more practical and versatilethan the proposal of Lehrman.

With this end in mind, this invention provides a fragrance emittingdevice for use in ironing comprising an absorbent body within which isincorporated a fragrance composition, the body being adapted fordisposition between an upper surface of an ironing board and an ironingboard cover fitted to cover the upper surface.

By providing a fragrance body that is a separate product, it can be madesufficiently cheaply that it can be disposed of when the fragrance hasbecome exhausted. The user has a free choice to use whatever cover theychoose, and the cover can be used until it has become completely wornout. The fragrance not only freshens the items being ironed; it alsopervades the surrounding atmosphere making the task of ironing lessarduous.

The absorbent body may be formed from a cellulose pulp material. Thishas advantages of being cheap and readily biodegradable and canwithstand the temperatures encountered in ironing. It is also relativelyinert and is unlikely to react unfavourably to the fragrancecomposition.

There are various possible ways in which the fragrance composition canbe incorporated into the body. For example, it may be encapsulated suchthat it is released only upon application of heat. This has theadvantage that the fragrance can remain almost indefinitely in the bodyif it is unused. However, it is relatively expensive to produce andrequires specialist manufacturing techniques. An alternative is tosimply disperse liquid fragrance composition in the body. This can beachieved very simply and cheaply. However, the device must be stored ina sealed enclosure prior to use. The fragrance chosen preferably has lowvolatility at room temperature, so as to minimise loss of fragrance whenthe device is not in use, and has a higher volatility at thetemperatures encountered during ironing.

The fragrance composition most preferably has a flashpoint that isgreater than the temperature to which it will typically be subject. Forexample, it may be selected to have a flashpoint greater than 150° C.

Advantageously, the body is substantially smaller than the upper surfaceof a typical ironing board. This allows a user to select when to causefragrance composition to be volatised by passing a hot iron over aregion of an ironing board cover above the device.

From another aspect, the invention provides a packaged product for usein ironing comprising an absorbent body having volatile fragrancecomposition dispersed within it, contained within a sealed package thatis substantially impermeable to the fragrance composition.

Typically, the package is formed from a flexible and preferablytransparent plastic material. The package may simply be ruptured inorder to open it. Alternatively, the package may be resalable after ithas been opened. In such embodiments, a user can return the device tothe package when it is not in use to reduce the rate at which fragrancecomposition evaporates from it and thereby extend its life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by wayof example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an ironing board being provided with afragrance emitting device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a packaged product embodying the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A fragrance emitting device embodying the invention is formed as a body20 of cellulose pulp approximately 2 mm to 4 mm thick. In shape it isapproximately an isosceles triangle, having a base that is straight andtwo further edges that are convex curves.

The body 20 is permeated with a fragrance composition. The compositionis formulated to have a low volatility at room temperature and arelatively higher volatility at temperatures encountered during ironing.Care must be taken to ensure that the amount of the composition that ispresent in the pad is not so great that it will diffuse thorough theironing board cover because this could create an oily patch in thecover. The fragrance composition must also be selected such that it willnot react with the foam backing that is present on most ironing boardcovers, because this could cause the body to adhere to the cover.

An additional consideration that must be addressed when selecting asuitable fragrance composition is that its flashpoint should not belower than the temperature to which it will be subject during ironing.Experiments have shown that this can exceed 150° C., which is anunusually high flashpoint for a fragrance composition.

After manufacture, the body 20 permeated with fragrance composition issealed, in this embodiment, within a plastic package 22 that has lowpermeability to the fragrance composition, and is thus presented as apackaged product for sale. In the interest of presentation, the plasticmaterial from which the package is formed may be transparent. Thus,within the package 22, the fragrance composition can escape from thebody 20 only until it reaches saturation within the package. Thisensures that most of the fragrance composition remains within the bodyuntil the device is to be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, a typical ironing board for use presents anupwardly-directed ironing surface 10 upon which an article to be ironedcan be supported. The ironing surface 10 is formed by a heat-resistantouter surface of an ironing board cover 12 that is wrapped around theironing board portion. The cover 12 is supported on a flat upper surface18 of the ironing board. Although these are not shown, the ironing boardis typically supported on legs which, when placed on a flat floor,position the flat upper surface horizontally at a convenient heightabove the floor.

When viewed in plan, the ironing board extends along an axis about whichit is symmetrical. Towards one of its ends, the board carries an ironstand 16 formed of heat-resistant material, the stand being to receiveand support an iron when it is not in use. Towards the opposite end ofthe bord, its width tapers to form a nose.

To use the device, the cover 12 is first removed from the region of theboard's nose to expose the flat surface below. The device is thenremoved from its sealed package and placed upon the flat surface 18 asshown at 20 in FIG. 1. It will be seen that the shape of the body meansthat it fits well within the nose of the ironing board. Once the deviceis in place, the cover 12 is replaced. As will be seen from FIG. 2, thedevice is then sandwiched between the cover 12 and the flat surface 18.

When the ironing board is not in use, the fragrance composition willevaporate form the body 20 only slowly. The air surrounding the body 20will quickly become saturated with the fragrance composition, whereuponfurther evaporation will cease. However, when the ironing board is inuse, and the iron is passed over the pad, two effects cause a release ofperfume. First, the body 20 and the fragrance composition is heated,causing an increase in the volatility of the fragrance composition.Second, the air immediately surrounding the pad 10 is compressed by theiron, and this causes some of it to be ejected through the material ofthe cover, carrying fragrance composition with it. Thus, a user canchoose to cause fragrance composition to be released by passing theiriron over it. While no fragrance is required, the user can simply avoidthe region of the board upon which the device is placed.

In another embodiment, the fragrance composition is encapsulated withinbodies that prevent its evaporation, the bodies being formed such as torupture when subject to the heat of an iron passing over the body.Evaporation of the fragrance composition is substantially preventeduntil the bodies are ruptured. This extends the life of the device bypreventing dispersal of the fragrance other than when release offragrance is wanted by the user.

In an alternative embodiment, the package may be provided with are-sealable sealing strip 24. This allows a user to return the device tothe package 22 while it is not in use, thereby conserving the fragrancecomposition within the body 20.

1. A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing comprising anabsorbent body within which is incorporated a fragrance composition, thebody being adapted for disposition between an upper surface of anironing board and an ironing board cover fitted to cover the uppersurface.
 2. A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing according toclaim 1 in which the absorbent body is formed from a cellulose pulpmaterial.
 3. A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing according toclaim 1 in which encapsulated such that it is released only uponapplication of heat.
 4. A fragrance emitting device for use in ironingaccording to claim 1 in which liquid fragrance composition is dispersedwithin the body.
 5. A fragrance emitting device for use in ironingaccording to claim 4 in which the fragrance composition has lowvolatility at room temperature.
 6. A fragrance emitting device for usein ironing according to claim 5 in which the fragrance composition has ahigher volatility at the temperatures encountered during ironing.
 7. Afragrance emitting device for use in ironing according to claim 1 inwhich the fragrance composition has a flashpoint that is greater thanthe temperature to which it will typically be subject during ironing. 8.A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing according to claim 7 inwhich the fragrance composition has a flashpoint greater than 150° C. 9.A fragrance emitting device for use in ironing according claim 1 inwhich the body is substantially smaller than the upper surface of atypical ironing board.
 10. (canceled)
 11. A packaged product for use inironing comprising an absorbent body having volatile fragrancecomposition dispersed within it, contained within a sealed package thatis substantially impermeable to the fragrance composition.
 12. Apackaged product for use in ironing according to claim 11 in which thepackage is formed from a flexible plastic material.
 13. A packagedproduct for use in ironing according to claim 11 in which the package isresealable.